- Patients who stayed in the emergency room before hospital admission were more likely to die
- Researchers have also found that hospital mortality increases when the ER is busy
- READ MORE: Here’s how long you can expect to live based on your current age
Patients who spend one night in the emergency room before being admitted to the hospital are more likely to die.
Researchers in France looked at data on patients over the age of 74 from 97 emergency departments across the country between December 12 and 14, 2022.
They compared two groups: patients who were admitted directly to a hospital room before midnight and those who spent at least from midnight to 8 a.m. in the emergency room.
The researchers found that patients who stayed overnight in the emergency room were about 40 percent more likely to die in the hospital than patients who could be placed in a room immediately.
French researchers found that patients who spent one night in the emergency room had an approximately 40 percent higher risk of dying in hospital than patients who were admitted straight away
The inpatient mortality within 30 days among people who spent one night in the emergency room was 15.7 percent compared to 11.1 percent in the hospitalization group, according to the study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicinefound it.
The researchers also looked at adverse events that occurred in the emergency room and in the hospital.
They found that those who stayed in the ER were more likely to experience falls, infection, bleeding, heart attack, stroke, blood clots, pressure sores and low sodium levels, which “partially explained” why the patients were more likely to die.
Researchers attributed this in part to “a night on a hard bed and possibly inadequate monitoring and care.”
Patients who can’t sleep in the emergency room can also contribute to this, as sleep deprivation is especially dangerous in older people and can cause or increase memory loss, confusion, or depression.
Patients at the highest risk were those who needed help with daily functions, the researchers said.
They concluded: ‘Older adults should be given priority for admission to a ward.’
A separate 2022 study also found that emergency room conditions contributed to hospital-wide mortality.
Researchers from Pennsylvania State University and the University of California, San Francisco found that the hospital-wide death rate was 5.4 percent higher on days when the emergency room was busy.
And because of the EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act) law, hospitals are not allowed to turn anyone away, meaning patients can continue to fill emergency rooms even when there are no beds available.
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center, which was not involved in the study, said Fox News digital: ‘There is more that can go wrong with older adults in the emergency room.
‘Older patients may have less medical reserve and more comorbidities and may become more easily stressed and disoriented, which can worsen outcomes.
‘It is also easier to spot additional medical problems, including infections, in the hospital.’